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Inconsistency could eventually doom Chad Henne, Dolphins

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - DECEMBER 12: Chad Henne  of the Miami Dolphins drops back to pass against the New York Jets at New Meadowlands Stadium on December 12, 2010 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

When taking their final three matchups into account, it’s not a stretch to think the 7-6 Dolphins can still make the playoffs. They host the Bills and Lions these next two weeks before traveling to New England to play a Patriots team that may be resting starters by that point.

But the thought of everything resting on quarterback Chad Henne’s shoulders is enough to make some fans puke and others simply shrug their shoulders and say, “Hey, if he plays like he did against the Raiders then we still have a shot!”

The only consistent part of Henne’s game right now is inconsistency. For every 307-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Raiders, there’s a 174-yard, three-interception game against the Browns. (Or worse, a 55-yard, 5-for-18 day against the Jets.)

While some fans want him gone next year no matter how the 2010 season plays out, the numbers suggest that he hasn’t regressed like many think. He’s thrown one more interception through 12 games this year than he did in 14 last year, but he’s also thrown one more touchdown pass in two less games as well. His completion percentage is roughly the same (60.8 last year compared to 60.5 this year), but he’s also throwing for more yards-per-pass attempt (7.0 compared to 6.4 in ’09).

According to Pro Football Reference.com, his passing touchdown percentage, sack percentage, passer rating, yards per attempt, net yards per attempt, adjusted yards per attempt and adjusted net yards per attempt are all higher than last year, too. So while it would appear as though the on field product has been worse, it’s actually been slightly better on a whole in most categories.

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Mark Cuban seeks to create college football playoff

April 10, 2010: Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban during the game between the Sacramento Kings and the Dallas Mavericks at Arco Arena in Sacramento, CA. Ben Munn/CSM.

After two failed bids to buy a baseball team, Mavs owner Mark Cuban has now set his sights on fixing the college football postseason.

“The more I think about it, the more sense it makes as opposed to buying a baseball team,” said Cuban, who tried to buy the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers within the last few years. “You can do something the whole country wants done.”

Cuban said he envisions either a 12- or 16-team playoff field with the higher seeds getting homefield advantage. The homefield advantage, Cuban said, would ensure the college football regular-season games would not lose any importance.

The bowl games could still exist under Cuban’s plan, but he said he would make it more profitable for programs to make the playoffs than a bowl.

“Put $500 million in the bank and go to all the schools and pay them money as an option,” Cuban said. “Say, ‘Look, I’m going to give you X amount every five years. In exchange, you say if you’re picked for the playoff system, you’ll go.’ “

I think 12 or 16 teams is too aggressive too early. In my proposed eight-team playoff, all of the teams that would miss the playoffs (Michigan State, LSU, Arkansas) had an opportunity to seal a bid earlier in the year, but failed to do so. This ensures the regular season keeps its importance, which is something that BCS apologists bring up every time they attempt to defend their flawed system.

Other than that, I’m glad to see Cuban focusing his efforts on this, because a college football playoff seems to be going nowhere fast. Maybe throwing money at the problem will convince schools to go to the playoff instead of the BCS, but it’s going to take a lot of convincing.

Manu Ginobili hits game-winner against the Bucks [video]

My beloved Bucks, coming off of a surprising win in Dallas to snap the Mavs’ 12-game winning streak, gave the Spurs one hell of a run before Manu Ginobili hit this game winner at the buzzer.

The Bucks had a chance to take the lead, but failed to get a good look at the hoop. It’s a situation where Brandon Jennings has to create his own shot, but he ended up picking up his dribble and giving the ball to Luc Mbah a Moute, who tried to draw the foul on an airborne player.

Ginobili had 26 points, six rebounds and four assists in the win. Chris Douglas-Roberts (21 points) and Drew Gooden (20 points) led the Bucks in scoring, but it was Andrew Bogut (15 points, seven rebounds, four assists and SEVEN BLOCKS) who was the player of the game for Milwaukee. I sure hope he gets a long, hard look for the All-Star team, but Al Horford, Shaquille O’Neal, Roy Hibbert and Brook Lopez might have something to say about that. None of those players are the defensive presence that Bogut is, however.

Shogun, Evans scheduled for UFC 129

MONTREAL- MAY 8: Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua (L) looks at Lyoto Machida in their light heavyweight bout at UFC 113 at Bell Centre on May 8, 2010 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images)

From HeavyMMA.com:

A long-awaited light heavyweight title fight between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Rashad Evans will now headline a UFC event on March 19 in Newark, New Jersey.

Currently titled UFC 129, the event could eventually become UFC 128 due to the cancellation of a planned event in Abu Dhabi on March 12. Officials were not able to secure a venue for the planned Middle East event.

A featherweight bout between Chad Mendes and Michihiro Omigawa is also planned for the event. Sources close to the UFC confirmed both bouts with Heavy.com on Wednesday. Sportsnet.ca first reported the rescheduling on Tuesday.

The co-main event will feature light heavyweight veteran Tito Ortiz taking on Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. In addition, Kurt Pellegrino also announced via Twitter on Wednesday that he’ll be taking on Gleison Tibau during the event.

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Something doesn’t add up in Sal Alosi “Tripgate” scandal

FOXBORO, MA - DECEMBER 06: Head coach Rex Ryan of the New York Jets talks to his players on the bench during the first quarter against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on December 6, 2010 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Chris Chambers/Getty Images)

The Jets are saying that Sal Alosi acted alone last Sunday when he instructed inactive players to line up along the sideline and form a human wall when Miami’s Nolan Carroll was running down field covering a punt. Alosi admitted that he acted alone as well.

But something still doesn’t add up here. Why would Alosi, a strength and conditioning coach in charge of helping players avoid injuries on Sunday, be a ringleader of something like this? Where’s the benefit? Why would he risk his career to do something so stupid?

Something tells me we’re not getting the whole truth here. The Jets say that Rex Ryan doesn’t coach his assistants to form human walls on the sidelines and maybe he doesn’t. But unless Alosi’s brain is the size of a walnut, I don’t see a strength and conditioning coach risking their job to do something like this.

If Alosi did act alone, why haven’t the Jets fired him yet? I could see suspending and fining him if he had a brain fart and tripped Carroll in the spur of the moment. But if what the Jets are saying is true and Alosi actually masterminded this charade, then what’s the point in keeping him on staff? If Ryan doesn’t “coach that way” and neither do any of his top assistants (i.e. special teams coach Mike Westhoff), then why not drop this guy like a bad habit? I’m sure the New York freaking Jets can pick up the phone and have a new strength and conditioning coach hired in 25 minutes. So why retain Alosi?

I’d be interested to see if they eventually fire him. I don’t want to see anyone lose their job but if Alosi is as dumb as he seems to be, then can him and get somebody who won’t embarrass the entire organization. It’s not like he made one mistake. A mistake would have been tripping Carroll because you got caught up in prank. But this was premeditated, which tells me either Alosi was instructed by a higher up to carry out this plan or he truly acted alone and therefore, shouldn’t keep his job. After all, I wouldn’t want my players being trained by someone as classless as this.

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